Oakland: Girl declared brain dead after tonsil surgery may be taken off life support Tuesday

Nailah Winkfield, mother of Jahi McMath,13, who has been declared brain dead after a routine tonsillectomy, talks to media with her husband Martin Winkfield, in front of Children's Hospital in Oakland, Calif., on Monday, Dec. 16, 2013. (Laura A. Oda/Bay Area News Group)

OAKLAND -- Exactly a week after Jahi McMath arrived at Children's Hospital Oakland for a routine tonsil surgery, family members were gathering by her bedside Monday night to await doctors' final word on whether there would be any hope of taking their 13-year-old home.

The routine surgery ended in what her mother said was Jahi's worst nightmare: never waking back up. The bubbly teen from a large Oakland family was declared brain dead last week. More family members gathered to visit Jahi late Monday, before she underwent one last test to see if she had any chance of recovery.

The results of the test, Jahi's family said, will determine whether or when doctors will take the teen off life support.

Jahi McMath, 13, who went in for a routine surgery to get her tonsils removed Monday, is now brain dead after complications post surgery. (Omari Sealey)

"At this point it's not up to us (to decide whether to keep her on life support)," her uncle, 27-year-old Omari Sealey, said. "It's so hard for my family. It's so hard for me because her heart is still beating. It's the most helpless feeling to know there's nothing else you can do."

Late Monday, after confirming that the family had convinced a doctor to perform an EEG test to check for any signs of brain activity, Sealey added: "We haven't given up hope. We believe that we still have a shot."

Sealey said earlier Monday that the hospital had made the decision to take Jahi off life support, despite the family's objections. The hospital administration sought permission from Jahi's family to speak to the media on Monday, but the family denied the request. Laws prohibit the hospital from speaking in detail about patients unless permission is given.

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"We can say that, as whenever we see a medical or surgical complication, we are reviewing her case very closely," Chief of Pediatrics David Durand said in a brief statement. "Our hearts go out to her family, and we want to support them during this extremely difficult time."

Jahi's family has said they are seeking legal counsel as hospital officials review the case.

Jahi went in for surgery Dec. 9 for what was supposed to be a one-night stay, according to her mother, Nailah Winkfield. When Jahi came out of surgery, she appeared healthy and alert, and was eating a Popsicle, her mother said. The girl was talking and reading notes before blood began pouring from her nose and mouth, she said.

Jahi later went into cardiac arrest and was pronounced brain dead by Thursday, the family said.

Outside of the North Oakland hospital on Monday, Winkfield pleaded for answers from a hospital staff she said has been obstinate and rude during the family's quest for information. The family said hospital staff have asked family to leave the facility and have refused the family's request to meet with hospital administration.

Handwritten notes that Jahi wrote after her surgery -- one read, "Am I OK?" -- are missing too, family members said.

People at E.C. Reems Academy of Technology and Arts, where Jahi is one of 27 eighth-graders, spent the week "praying for a miracle," said Lisa Blair, the school's chief operating officer. Jahi is well known at the tiny East Oakland public charter school, which she has attended since kindergarten; she was recently elected to serve as a judge on the school's student council.